21.5.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 184/3

1.

On 10 May 2016, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Apax Partners LLP (‘AP’, United Kingdom) and Accenture plc (‘Accenture’, Ireland) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Duck Creek (‘Duck Creek’, USA), by way of purchase of ownership interests as well as the creation of a strategic alliance between Accenture and Duck Creek.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for AP: private equity firm managing private equity funds,

—   for Accenture: professional and advisory services on strategy, management, technology and IT systems,

—   for Duck Creek: provider of software solutions for the non-life insurance sector.

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice.

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number M.8038 — Apax Partners/Accenture/Duck Creek), to the following address: